130,000-home Teravalis framework advances in Buckeye

Buckeye’s Planning and Zoning Commission has recommended approval of a new 33,939-acre development framework for most of Teravalis, a step that could allow as many as 130,000 homes across roughly 53 square miles of northern Buckeye.

The commission acted Tuesday, Oct. 27, according to the city’s newly posted legal-actions record. The recommendation now goes to the mayor and City Council. It is not final zoning approval, and it does not authorize 130,000 homes to begin construction.

The case is among the largest long-range land-use decisions moving through the West Valley. The proposed Teravalis Planned Area Development, case PLZZ-25-0013, would replace the Douglas Ranch Community Master Plan overlay on the subject property with a project-specific zoning framework.

A citywide-scale planning area

The commission record describes an irregular planning area generally bounded by the Jomax Road alignment on the north; the Thunderbird and Cactus road alignments on the south; the 298th and 319th avenue alignments on the east; and the 355th and 379th avenue alignments on the west.

The proposed framework allows up to 130,000 residential units and approximately 3,542 acres of nonresidential development. At about 53 square miles, the area is larger than the land area of many incorporated Arizona communities.

A companion action, Douglas Ranch Major Community Master Plan Amendment No. 2, case PLZZ-26-0011, was also recommended for approval. That amendment removes the Teravalis property from the older Douglas Ranch plan while preserving the existing framework for about 1,440 acres consisting of three Arizona State Land Department parcels.

The new Teravalis document is intended to govern villages and smaller development units, permitted land uses, development standards, design guidelines, parks, trails, open space, density transfers and city review procedures. Individual neighborhoods, commercial centers and major infrastructure would still advance through later approvals, plats, permits and construction contracts.

130,000 is a ceiling, not a current buildout

The city’s 130,000-unit figure is the maximum residential capacity in the proposed zoning framework. Howard Hughes Communities’ current Arizona project page describes the broader 37,000-acre Teravalis community as entitled for 113,000 homes, 340,000 residents and 62 million square feet of commercial development over more than 50 years.

That public developer plan is 17,000 homes below the maximum in the commission recommendation. The difference does not establish that Howard Hughes intends to build 130,000 units. It shows that the requested city framework would leave room for a larger ultimate residential program than the developer currently advertises.

Teravalis is already active at a smaller scale. Howard Hughes says the approximately 3,000-acre Floreo village opened in November 2025 and can include up to 8,500 homes, 7 million square feet of commercial space and more than 600 acres of open space. Homes and model centers at Floreo should not be confused with construction across the full 33,939-acre planning area.

Infrastructure will determine the pace

Buckeye’s 2025 Integrated Water Master Plan separates Floreo from the much larger future Teravalis area. The plan says a water-reclamation facility is being built to serve Floreo, while a broader 35,770-acre Teravalis development area was not expected to begin developing before 2040 and would require its own reclamation facility.

That master-plan assumption is not a binding construction schedule, and future updates could change it. It nevertheless shows the gap between a land-use entitlement and the water, wastewater, roads, public safety facilities and other infrastructure required for decades of buildout.

The legal-actions record does not identify a City Council hearing date. Buckeye has regular council meetings scheduled Nov. 3 and Nov. 17, but the city had not posted an agenda confirming the Teravalis cases for either meeting as of Wednesday afternoon.

The next decisive milestone is a City Council vote on the Teravalis PAD and companion Douglas Ranch amendment. Until that happens, the 33,939-acre framework remains a commission recommendation.

West Valley Post will follow the council stage and long-term infrastructure commitments in the Buckeye Development Tracker.

Featured image: AI-generated editorial illustration for West Valley Post. It does not depict the Teravalis site, approved plan or actual construction.